It is the inflammation of the venous system, which can degenerate into deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary thromboembolism.
It is usually caused by medical diseases (cancer, congenital heart disease, nephrotic syndrome), trauma or intravenous catheters.
In many cases, it is not associated with symptoms. When it causes deep vein thrombosis, it is accompanied by swelling, redness and pain in the extremity. If it debuts as a pulmonary thromboembolism, it may cause respiratory failure, cardiocirculatory collapse or even death.
Diagnosis is reached by clinical questioning, physical examination and color Doppler ultrasound. Other complementary tests less commonly used are phlebography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.
Treatment must be adapted to each case, with anticoagulant drugs being the treatment of choice.
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